Market responds to APRA's higher risk-weight requirement for IRB banks

On July 20, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) revealed that from July 1 2016 it will be increasing the amount of capital required for Australian residential mortgage exposures by authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) which use the internal ratings-based (IRB) approach. The latest measures affect Australia's major banks and Macquarie Bank – but leave the requirement for Australia's regional banks – which are already required to hold more capital – unchanged.